Most modern vehicles, including passenger cars, trucks and tractor-trailers, include an on-board vehicle diagnostics computer that monitors various vehicle systems, such as the engine, drive train and electrical components. Most vehicles include a connector through which vehicle diagnostic data may be accessed, such as by a repair technician using a vehicle diagnostics data reader. These connectors are generally referred to as on-board diagnostics (OBD) connectors. Communication protocols have been developed to standardize the access of data through the OBD connectors. For example, OBD-II is a standard that specifies a physical configuration for a diagnostic connector and the connector's pin-out, as well as electrical signaling protocols and messaging format.
Systems have been developed for connecting to a vehicle's OBD connector, accessing data from the OBD interface on a periodic basis, and transmitting the data to a central location for analysis on a periodic basis. However, these systems have not addressed the need for accessing data through a vehicle's OBD connector for monitoring inventories of vehicles, such as for vehicle financing entities.